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A 38-YEAR-OLD man who subjected his mentally impaired step-daughter to horrific sexual abuse on an almost daily basis while he was high on ice has been jailed.

The shocking abuse stripped the girl of her personality and left her so timid and shy she now refuses to be photographed at all.

The girl was aged between 15 and 16 when the abuse happened between May 2013 and October 2014.

The Hervey Bay man, who the Chronicle has not named in order to protect the girl, pleaded guilty to 14 charges including maintaining a sexual relationship with a child under 16 and three counts of rape.

Crown prosecutor Dejana Kovac said the man first started to force the girl to perform sexual acts on him.

She said he also touched her inappropriately and forced her to watch him masturbate.

The acts all occurred at their Hervey Bay home while the girl's mother was out.

"He told her not to tell anyone," Ms Kovac said.

"She remained compliant until she was brave enough to tell her pastor."

Ms Kovac said the girl also suffered an intellectual impairment, giving her the comprehension of a much younger child.

A victim impact statement from the girl's mother said the abuse had significantly changed the girl and the "offending had taken away her personality".

The statement said the girl was previously bubbly girl had become clingy and withdrawn.

Defence barrister Paul Rutledge said the man was heavily addicted to ice during the period of the assaults and was using about 2g a day.

He has since given up the drug.

Judge Gary Long sentenced the man to four years jail for maintaining a relationship with a child and two years nine months for the rapes.